<< Objectives >>- Improve quality of services in VET for people with a disability and beyond- Raise awareness & improve knowledge of staff about initiatives, trends and key topics in quality of services & quality assurance; links between quality services, rights & quality of life; perceptions of people with disabilities about quality of services; increase quality culture & quality behavior of staff in service providers.- Promote mutual learning among staff, improve implementation of quality assurance system.<< Implementation >>Mapping of research/publications on quality-related topics and assurance in VET/the social sector; including EU and UN initiatives, and on QoL, rights; drawing out key topics.Focus groups with PWD, their families, staff about the meaning of quality in the servicesOnline manual to upskill staff, addressing key principles and issues; assess quality assurance in their organization; to do a self-assessment of their quality processesRecommendations for the improvement of quality assurance schemes<< Results >>Comprehensive mapping, feeding into user-friendly e-booklet on quality assurance, rights-based approach, quality of life; tool for self-assessmentConclusions from focus groups including PWDStaff with improved knowledge in these areas & cultural & linguistic skills; improved VET service qualityDissemination strategy & activities Increased awareness/understanding of topics addressed among partners of partners & other stakeholders Input into Framework for social services of excellence for PWD

This project is based on previous experience developed at our institution in the framework of a scientific study about the design of an education program to promote the quality of life of adults with multiple disabilities, validated by international experts. We now feel the need to bring together the best practices developed at European level in this area, to promote the qualification and fairness of the services available to these citizens. Regarding education for the quality of life of people with disabilities, it is aimed at focusing on an educational system of multidimensional and multidisciplinary nature that respects diversity, individuality and development, aiming at a culture of cooperation and collaboration for the disabled. problem solving, maximizing the potential of each individual with a disability and providing an improvement in the educational response. This project intends to develop an education program to promote the quality of life of adults with severe and profound disabilities, defining strategies to be implemented with these people and their families, as well as identifying areas of training for employees and guidelines of organizational policies and practices. In this context, the main objective of the project is to improve the education of adults with disabilities through the provision of educational strategies that promote their quality of life and foster the qualification and professionalism of service providers in the scope of that issue. The project involves about 270 participants from the following target groups: clients, professionals, managers and stakeholders of centers for the education of adults with severe and profound disabilities or similar organizations; researchers from a research center on education for the quality of life of people with disabilities; persons concerned with the quality of life of people with disabilities; and policy makers. It will be determined the profile of the quality of life of adults persons with severe and profound disabilities and identified individual variables, services and community that are predictors of personal quality of life outcomes (quantitative methodology and benchmarking). We intend to identify good practices and successful experiences developed by partner in terms of adequacy, quality, force and relevance for improving the quality of life of adults with severe and profound disabilities (case study and benchlearning). And design an education program for the quality of life of adults with severe and profound disabilities In terms of expected results, it is expected that the application of the new paradigms through best practices based on conceptual models and frameworks of human functioning and the provision of individual support among people with disabilities, centered on change through innovation, reorganization of services and institutions and its effectiveness, contribute to a successful and effective impact in improving their quality of life. Thus, it is intended to promote a positive vision in the way these people are seen and lead to the change of attitudes towards the disabled population, reflecting the quality and the equity of the services made available during their life.

<< Background >>The VOLT (Video Online Learning and Training) project responds to an ongoing need for inclusive and accessible digital learning opportunities; a need that became all the more apparent during the periods of COVID-19 lockdown. The project aims at creating training resources for staff and learners in VET services for people with disabilities. VET service need to equip their staff with the knowledge and digital skills needed to quickly adapt to online training and to use digital learning environments. In order to digitally transform their services, they need tools that cater for the abilities of people with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities. In this way, they can continue providing inclusive programs to learners without excluding them from the plethora of online tools that usually require an adequate level of digital and literacy skills. The familiar but powerful learning medium of videos will be utilised to create a learning platform easily accessible by all. The innovation of this project is utilising the simplicity of video learning and implementing this familiar and motivating teaching tool in distance learning in a digital environment with all the necessary accessibiliity features.<< Objectives >>The objectives of the VOLT project are to:• Develop basic digital skills and competences in VET staff providing services to people with disabilities so that they can implement online, blended and distance teaching and training.• Equip VET staff in disability services with knowledge and skills based on the Universal Design for Learning and the Video Modeling methodology. Training staff and creating user-friendly tools will be motivating and will facilitate the provision of inclusive learning opportunities for learners with challenges accessing text-based materials. • Provide VET staff with knowledge, tools and training resources to train learners with disabilities in basic digital skills so that they can continue to engage in the education and training process when distance learning is required.• Train learners to acquire basic digital skills, using easily accessible and inclusive tools and tachnologies, so that participation in online, blended and distance teaching and training is possible.• Engage learners in the use of digital tools by producing video content for the VOLT Online Learning and Training platform. The co-production of videos will motivate the learners to actively engaging in digital training processes. • Create the open license with no-fee access VOLT Online Learning and Training platform, which will include videos modelling curricular, personal and work-related topics.• Improve the digital education and training readiness of VET services.<< Implementation >>A needs analysis will be comprised of defining the baseline of VET staff and learners’ digital skills and video skills. The European Digital Competence Framework will be used as a reference and a task-oriented questionnaire on video skills will be created. The needs analysis will also include the identification of good practices and existing digital tools.Based on the results of the needs analysis, the partners will create the following resources:1. Guide for VET staff: Teaching and Training through Videos in distance learning.2. Toolkit for vocational trainees: Learning through Videos.3. VOLT Online Learning and Training platform.These resources will be used in the training activities that will involve training 14 staff members as VOLT Ambassadors who will then train 15 VOLT Pioneers per partner organisation. The VOLT Pioneers will support the implementation of the project results and train the learners using the Toolkit to improve digital skills and access to the VOLT Platform. The training and support materials will be available online in 4 languages (English, German, Greek, Spanish). At least 40 videos will be created during the implementation period of the project. The VET staff trained as VOLT Pioneers will produce the videos to be uploaded to the VOLT Platform, ensuring that all the functions and accessibility features are available. The videos will be in easy-to-understand language, with closed captioning and have the ability to embed a pop-up with sign language. Co-production and video modelling techniques will be used to further engage the learners. They will participate in creating videos for the VOLT Platform based on their preferences. Evaluation activities will be an ongoing process throughout the project and information from feedback from all participants will be incorporated into the final versions of all project results. The launch of the VOLT Platform will be an online EU level dissemination event that will provide useful feedback and suggestions for improvement to be incorporated into the platform. The National and European dissemination activities will ensure that the project outputs and results reach a wide relevant audience.<< Results >>The VOLT project intends to promote the digital transformation of VET services by developing digital skills in staff and learners. Staff will improve their capacity to create inclusive and accessible digital learning opportunities for learners who cannot access text-based online tools. Overall, digital skills and competences will be improved, for both staff and trainers, enabling them to use other digital technologies, products and services beyond the scope of the project.The Needs Analysis results will highlight the barriers and needs of staff and learners in using digital technologies.The “Guide for VET staff: Teaching and Training through Videos in distance learning” will provide VET services with quality training materials for staff, where the content and approach responds to staff’s needs and expectations.14 staff members will be trained as VOLT Ambassadors. They will train 15 VOLT Pioneers per partner organisation, amounting to 60 VOLT Pioneers across all partners. The total number of learners participating in the implementation of the project results is 300 learners.Staff will gain knowledge and skills and be equipped with a practical guide to use in implementing online and distance teaching and training in order to cater for the needs of all services users and especially those from the most disadvantaged groups.The “Toolkit for vocational trainees: Learning through Videos” will assist learners to develop digital skills. The familiar medium of videos will motivate them to engage in learning and provide a means to practice and reinforce knowledge and skills in their own time.The project expects to create an accessible online learning and training platform where trainers can upload content covering a wide range of topics presented in video format. The videos created during the project will be the beginning for this online tool, as it is expected to be maintained in the future with the addition of more videos after the end of the project.The project aims at making a long-term impact on the participating organisations by increasing their digital capacity and readiness. They will have the Guide for VET staff and the Toolkit for Learners to use to train digital skills in the future with new staff and learners.Through the dissemination activities and the open access nature of the VOLT platform, the project aims at reaching a wide audience and making an impact on other VET organisations providing services to people with various disabilities. The project results will have high transferability potential to staff and learners from other organisation and VET services. It is hoped that the platform will have wide-reaching applicability, use and future contributions from learners and staff outside the partnership.

<< Background >>DUB-IN project is specifically addressed to people with psychosocial disability (PwPD), suffering from severe mental health issues as schizophrenia. This group of diseases are characterized by cognitive, psychophysiological and interpersonal deficits, which make more difficult to acquire and develop new skills and will require the adaptation and accommodation of learning/training opportunities. PwPD also show a decrease in motivation, interest and pleasure, but if there is a deficit that characterizes it, it is low social functioning. Usually PwPD suffer from affective flattening indicated by unchanging and unresponsive facial/voice expression, aprosodia and diminished communication. Besides, they are difficulties at the levels of social connection (social problems resolution, initiating/maintaining/finishing conversations, express opinions, make/accept critics, etc.). That puts them in a high risk of social exclusion.Currently, MH organizations are carrying out different approaches to improve social skills of PwPD, and although these interventions can have positive consequences for them, according to meta-analysis studies published within the last twenty years, ‘the results are inconclusive on the efficacy of Social Skills Training’ (Rus-Calafel, Mar et all, 2014). There is undeniably room for improvement to increase immediate effects and, above all, long-term clinical outcomes. DUB-IN project not only looks for an improved way to deliver social skills training in terms of effectiveness and applicability, but also provides trainers, practitioners, researchers and designers with new prospers and approaches to address the emergency of improving social functioning of PwPD that service providers can try instead. Coping strategies and social competence can reduce negative symptoms associated to Schizophrenia and confer not only protection to relapses but also resilience, interpersonal support, social affiliation and improves quality of life. Social competence allows the individual to control his/her illness, overcome obstacles and mobilize social support when needed. There is no a more powerful source of recovery than meaningful human connections and DUB-IN Online Training Service will for the first time: 1) Provide trainers and practitioners with a pioneering solution, easy to be applied to support PwPD to build social skills and 2) Develop a quality intervention and an attractive learning opportunity, based on the art of dubbing which will open new opportunities as voice actors, increasing the diversity of existing voices and reducing their invisibility and the stigma associated to them. The use of something as attractive and innovative as dubbing has some outstanding benefits: 1) Well-selected cinematographic scenes, in regards to individual learning objectives, provide the 'ideal context' to train communication skills, as contain all the necessary information to get into the role of the person speaking and to identify with the character and with the specific situation. 2) Through dubbing we can practice skills through behavioural rehearsals, where the scenario would be as close to reality as possible. It allows us to work and improve from basic daily life abilities as making requests to more complex skills as empathy; Help our target group to express positive and negative feelings, to initiate, keep and end conversations or something extremely useful, adaptive and therapeutic as connecting with others. All of these in controlled scenarios, which eliminate anxiety and stress associated with social interaction (inhibition) during training, but with the potential to improve self-perception of the individual's social performance.3) Our voice is one of the most important instrument of communication and by dubbing practitioners will master the use of PwPD own voice, enhance social skills and in addition, fight against the high risk of suffering social isolation, unemployment and marginality by PwPD.<< Objectives >>DUB-IN has as ultimate goal to build an inclusive society, where there will be room for everyone and where everyone including PwPD, can participate. It will be done by ensuring that they have the skills to connect with others and, they use them in a certain way that provides the personal stability needed for a satisfying life in their communities. Specific objectives are: (1) To provide trainers and practitioners working with PwPD with comprehensive training solutions to address the lack of social skills of their target groups. (2) To design a unique and attractive training program, based on dubbing and the real social/communication needs of PwPD, easily applicable in other MH organizations, which has the potential to improve the results of psychosocial rehabilitation at EU level. (3) To jointly design an innovative training model which provides PwPD with real actualizing opportunities in regards to their social skills and which allows them to: - Join into effective and attractive learning opportunities to improve social skills. - Facilitate the transfer of the skills learnt.- Connect training with real life. - Increase their representation as voice actors, increasing the diversity of existing voices and reducing their invisibility and the stigma associated with mental illness. (4) To improve social functioning of PwPD using dubbing of well-selected scenes in regards of clear and individualized learning objectives.<< Implementation >>(1) Monographic study to define the real social needs perceived by both teachers, trainers, practitioners from the MH sector and by PwPD. It will explore key and more demanding situations, evolution, impact, quality of existing interventions and trends in social skills development. This will be done by using interviews, focus groups and panel discussions together with a desk research and as a result we will identify relevant case scenarios and generalization techniques to further develop training units and the DUB-IN APP. (2) Design and development of a powerful, high-quality Online Training Service. It will be innovatively built to strengthen social skills and competence of PwPD in a way that has never been done before: using the potential of dubbing as a tool to transform the person. Dubbing gives us tools, opportunities for practice, a huge variety of scenarios, the opportunity to work with different brain areas and modify our voice register, vocal tessitura, diction, expression of emotions, etc. while recording texts, stories, radio wedges, audio-books or carrying out group dubbing, possibilities are endless. DUB-IN Training service will include: - Dubbing Director Curriculum: It will enable professionals to apply this model within their own organizations, finding here all the information and results needed.- Mayor Player Programme and Workbook: Addressed to PwPD, it will be a practical training on Social Skills which with a variety of cinematographic dubbing exercises designed by experts in Mental Health and Dubbing. It will include an inclusive e-Learning book to facilitate PwPD to follow the sessions, with additional learning materials and evaluation exercises. (3) Design and development of the DUB-IN APP. It will be designed to support one of the most important objectives of this (and any) social training which is generalization. PwPD will use DUB-IN APP to repeatedly practice social skills and abilities following the structure of the Mayor Player Programme and to apply them in their real life with different people and situations from their own environments. DUB-IN APP will offer PwPD simple exercises and affordable daily challenges, will create opportunities for practice and will be designed to give them appropriated rewards. (4) Transnational pedagogical tests of the DUB-IN Online Training Service and the APP (including the traineeship period). Pedagogical tests will follow the piloting protocol which contains all practical and logistic information, including indications about how the pilot training will be scheduled and organised to be able to compare different experiences. Different evaluation tools will be designed to assess the adequacy of the training program, its effectiveness and impact using a pre/post scale, ongoing surveys and personal interviews, discussion tables, etc. (5) Organize a dissemination campaign. Dissemination is one of the greatest challenges of DUB-IN project, as only by disseminating project results we can make MH Organizations to adopt this model and to move forward in the field of social skills training. We will use different tools to reach target audiences: - Most of the partners are members of relevant European and National networks and umbrella organizations working to support PwPD and DUB-IN will take advantage of this to make the training available through these platforms. - Design and production of appealing project identity, leaflets, website, press releases, etc.- Multiplier events, national conferences, participation on forums and social media feeds will be carefully conceived to augment the possibilities of DUB-IN replication.- Demos and other Dubbing projects with powerful social messages and developed during the Internship periods, will be used to disseminate the project, to show the level of competences achieved and the talent of the new voice actors/actresses. They will also support us to fight against invisibility and stigma associated to Mental illnesses.<< Results >>There is very little available for practitioners working with PwPD wanting to set up a motivating and effective training on Social Skills (nothing in the field of Dubbing regardless the potential of this resource). DUB-IN will fill that gap by providing a web-based training with lots of tailor-designed tools and opportunities for practice and an APP to sustain and validate outcomes. More in detail, project results will be: (1) DUB-IN Director Programme, a sector specific, challenging situations and highly practical training about enhancing social skills of PwPD using Dubbing. Participants will learn from voice speed and verbal fluency, empathy, assertiveness or resilience using previously selected scenes to be dubbed as leading methodology. This Director programme will be a tool for educators/trainers and practitioners working with PwPD and although will be addressed to the latest, will be the professionals who will manage the settings in regards to individual needs and find there all the info needed to put the model into practice. At the end, it will be fully available to any practitioner or mental health setting during and beyond DUB-IN project's life.(2) The Mayor Player & Workbook: This will be a valuable and a complementary resource to the sessions for those involved in the training (PwPD). Purpose of each session, theoretical material, evidence requirements (for assessment), exercises, suggesting further readings, tips, etc. will be included and described in an accessible language; The workbook will constitute an essential learning guide for participants. (3) At least 16 trainers/practitioners from partners’ organizations will undergo the DUB-IN Training. This, together with their participation in the International Training in Greece, practitioners will have acquired practical knowledge and skills, together with all didactic materials needed to finally apply the training with PwPS. (4) At least 40 PwPD will be involved in the pedagogical tests, conducted by the previously trained practitioners as tutors, under the supervision of experts partners (in dubbing and social skills). In this training, PwPD will be challenging the negative symptoms of the illness by acquiring and practicing new communication skills which lead to social competence and its associated rewards (boosting self-esteem, empowerment and hope) through dubbing.(5) The DUB-IN APP will be developed to support one of the most important objectives of this (and any) social skills training which is generalization. Generalization here, could be defined as the process by which the knowledge acquired along with being sustained over time are used in the entire scope of the person's social life. Generalization is one of the most problematic areas of any social skills training. To solve this issue, the main goal of this App will be to extend the reach of professionals into PwPD’s natural environments. (6) Six local awareness-raising campaigns to extend the use of DUB-IN project. At least 500 organizations will receive tailored information carefully edited for them about this training, information which will be complemented with training demonstrations, seminars and conferences. These campaigns will include the dissemination of the Demos and Dubbing projects developed during the Internship periods after the pedagogical tests to show the talent of the new voice actors/actresses and fight against invisibility and stigma associated to Mental illnesses.

<< Objectives >>Improving general accessibility of persons with disabilities (PWDs) is a core priority at EU level. The LMI4Dis_ABLED project will focus on facilitating access to quality labour market information (LMI) for new emerging career options, through highly skilled VET and career inclusion professionals and adequate LMI tools. Tailored and inclusive LMI services for PWDs will improve their labour market accessibility, career aspirations and opportunities, economic prosperity and autonomous living.<< Implementation >>The LMI4Dis_Abled project seeks to equip training, social & labour market inclusion professionals with adequate competencies and tools to provide quality career navigation services to PWDs through the development of: a. Updated LMI material for PWDs. b. Competence Profile Handbook on LMI provision for PWDs & Training Program for professionals serving PWDs c. Digital Careers Information System for PWDs, as a tool for professionals working with enabling PWDs active involvement and employability.<< Results >>The LMI4Dis_Abled project is expected to deliver concrete LMI material and tools, enhancing the competencies and capabilities of VET & disability support professionals involved in helping PWD for career planning, job rehabilitation and participation in VET opportunities, workplaces and communities. Long-term outcomes will contribute to eliminating barriers that exclude PWDs from social participation, to increasing their employability as well as the inclusiveness of VET, labour market & society.